Animal Farm Questions and Answers

Mollie likes being praised, admiring herself, wearing pretty ribbons, eating sugar, and being stroked by humans. She does not like working on the farm

20)What changes have been made in the weekly meetings over the last year?

The pigs now decide the farm policy. Snowball and Napoleon still disagree over almost everything

21)Explain the windmill controversy from Napoleon's point of view.

He thinks the major problem on the farm is increasing food production. He thinks the whole windmill thing is nonsense, or so he says, and urinates on Snowball's plans

22)What changes does Napoleon make after his dogs chase Snowball off the farm?

There will be no more Sunday Meetings. The animals will now meet on Sundays to salute the flag, sing "Beasts of England," and receive their orders for the week

23)Why don't the other animals protest Napoleon's decisions?

None of them is really smart enough to bring up any arguments. The sheep begin their bleating, and the dogs growl before anyone can think of a protest.

24)Note how the animals now arrange themselves when they enter the barn to receive their orders, as compared with the description in Chapter I.

Napoleon, Squealer, and Minimus, the poet, sit on a raised platform, The nine dogs sit in a semicircle around the three, and the other pigs sit behind them. The rest of the animals stand facing the pigs

25)What is the importance of the dogs' accompanying Squealer when he comes to talk to the animals?

Napoleon wants to make sure there is no protest or rebellion against his orders. In addition to Squealer's natural ability to convince, he has three vicious dogs to back him up.

Chapter 6 & 7

26)Image how things might have been different had Snowball gotten rid of Napoleon. What do you think Snowball would have done differently?

27)How much work are the animals now doing?

The animals still believe they are working for themselves. Although they already work a 60-hour week during spring and summer, Napoleon informs them that they can volunteer for Sunday afternoon work, as well. However, any animal not volunteering will have his rations cut in half

28)Why does Napoleon decide to engage in trade with neighboring farms?

Because certain items such as paraffin oil and dog biscuits are in short supply, Napoleon decides to sell a stack of hay and part of the wheat crop. Later they may have to sell some of the hens' eggs

29)How do the animals react?

They are troubled and think they remember a resolution against trade with humans. Four young pigs try to protest but are silenced by the dogs' growls and the sheeps' bleating of the slogan, "Four legs good, two legs bad." Squealer later explains the decision and asks if they have seen such a resolution written down, but no such record is found

30)How is the windmill destroyed? Why does Napoleon blame Snowball?

A violent November storm blows it down. Instead of admitting that the windmill's walls were not thick enough to support it against a strong wind, Napoleon blames Snowball for blowing it up. Since Snowball had drawn up the plans, the blame for its failure is partly his

31)Why does Napoleon insist the windmill must be rebuilt immediately?

Napoleon probably had many reasons, including preventing the animals from becoming too discouraged to begin building if they wait until spring. By keeping the animals busy building a windmill that will supposedly ease life for all of them, the animals will forget how miserably cold and hungry they are during the hard winter

32)Why does Napoleon order that the hens' eggs be sold?

The animals are nearly starving and there is almost no food left. The hens must give up their eggs for sale so that meal and grain can be purchase for the good of all

33)How does Napoleon react when the hens rebel against his orders?

He orders the hens' food rations cut off. If any other animals give any food to the chickens, they are to be killed. The dogs enforce his orders. Nine hens die of starvation before then hens give up their five-day protest

34)Why does Napoleon revive the threat of the farm being sabotaged by Snowball?

Snowball is the perfect scapegoat, the one who can be blamed when something goes wrong. It is not the pigs' fault when a storage-shed key is lost, or the cows' fault when they don't give much milk - it is Snowball's fault. They need an outside enemy to hate, someone they can accuse in place of wrongdoers. Snowball is discredited totally through the use of lies and false accusations. The other animals want to disagree but can't, and finally give in and agree with Boxer that if Napoleon says it is so, it is, because "Napoleon is always right."

35)Explain why the animals confessed to being traitors. Or is there any explanation?

The four pigs who are taken first are the same four who had disagreed previously with Napoleon's decisions. They probably are guilty of not wholeheartedly supporting Napoleon's policies. Next, the three hens who had led the egg rebellion confess, as do many others, to crimes against the state. death might be seen as a release for these poor animals at this point.

36)Why does Napoleon order the animals to stop singing "Beasts of England?"

The rebellion is over, and the pigs are in control of the farm. Even though the rest of the animals seem too dull-witted to realize that the pigs are just as bad as Mr. Jones, one might finally realize that one rebellion was not enough and lead another rebellion, this time against the pigs. The bleating of the sheep keeps any of the animals from protesting. One of the last traces of the society envisioned by Major is now gone, replaced by a patriotic song about Napoleon, leader of Animal Farm

Chapter 8 & 9

37)What purpose is served by the production figures Squealer reads to the animals?

The pigs fool the other animals by manipulating facts and figures to prove they are producing more and are much better off than they have ever been before. Nobody can dispute facts! Not even today

38)How is Napoleon becoming more and more like a typical dictator?

He is rarely seen in public, is always surrounded by his guard dogs, has an entourage that attends him whenever he goes out, has his own apartment in the house, has a taster for his food, and eats alone off fine china. The gun is also fired on his birthday. He has added many titles to his name, including "Terror of Mankind."

39)Describe the sale of the stack of lumber. How does Napoleon outwit himself?

The lumber is to be sold first to Mr. Pilkington and then to Mr. Frederick. Napoleon plays the men against each other until he gets the price he wants. He insists on being paid in banknotes, which turn out to be forgeries. When Frederick attacks the farm, Pilkington refuses to help Napoleon

40)What makes the battle against Frederick's men different from the Battle of the Cowshed?

There is no strategic defense planned for the farm. The men are better prepared and have more weapons, and the leaderless animals quickly hide

41)Why do the men blow up the windmill?

No doubt the humans see it as a symbol of the pigs' ability to run the farm. By destroying the product of the animals' considerable labor, the men probably think they will give up and Mr. Jones will regain his farm

42)The animals celebrate a victory, but at what cost?

The windmill is destroyed; Boxer has a split hoof, bleeding knees, and buckshot in his hind leg; several animals have been killed; and all of the animals, except Squealer who hid, are injured

43)Describe the whisky incident. Why would Orwell make this scene somewhat humorous?

The idea of pigs drinking whiskey, getting drunk, singing, and doing silly things is humorous. The first reaction of the pigs is to banish all alcohol under threat of death to anyone who drinks it. Given a chance to recover, however, the pigs decide it isn't so bad after all. They learn how to make beer and take the land that was to be used by the retired animals, so that they can plant barley

44)Why are the animals so easily fooled, even when they find Squealer with a ladder and white paint beside the barn at night?

Most of the animals cannot read and make no connection between this incident and the commandments written on the wall. Later, when Muriel reads the commandments, she finds she had forgotten that one of them really said, "No animal shall drink alcohol to excess."

45)What is happening to Boxer?

Boxer is working himself to death. He is not recovering from his injuries as quickly as he should, because he practices his own motto, "I will work harder."

46)What are living conditions like for all of the animals except the pigs and dogs?

The animals are working harder than ever and are given less food. Rations are cut repeatedly, a "readjustment" according to Squealer, who uses more facts and figures to prove how well off the animals really are. And the animals believe it!

47)Why does Napoleon allow Moses to return and to tell his stories about Sugarcandy Mountain?

The animals' physical condition is so miserable that they need the hope of a better life after death. With this promise, they will put up with more privation since they will eventually be rewarded. Students might see a parallel between Sugarcandy Mountain and heaven. People generally need to look forward to something

48)What happens to Boxer? How do the animals accept it?

Boxer finally injures himself while dragging stone for the windmill, and is taken away to the knacker to be made into glue, dogfood, fertilizer, etc. Squealer tells the animals that Boxer died in the hospital and repeats Boxer's final words, the two maxims by which Boxer lived and died. The animals want to believe what they are told, but only Benjamin understands what really happened. He had tried to stop them from taking Boxer, but was unable to do so. The money the pigs get for the dead Boxer is spent on whiskey

49)Of what kind of person does Benjamin remind you? Give some examples. What is your opinion of such people? What makes people behave this way?

He is an interesting character - cynical, knowing, but determined not to become involved. He alone knows what the pigs are doing. Perhaps if he had been aggressive sooner, he might have been able to save Boxer. He is like many people who know something is wrong but ignore it since it does not involve them - until it is too late

Chapter 10

50)What changes have the years brought to the farm?

Most of the animals who were alive during the Rebellion are dead. The farm is now prosperous. Other animals have been bought to replace the dead ones. The windmill has been finished, but instead of generating electricity to help all the animals, it is used for milling corn to make money for the pigs. Napoleon tells the animals that the truest happiness "lay in working hard and living frugally." And they do that

51)How does Orwell make fun of bureaucracy?

The pigs now spend hours typing up reports, minutes, and memos, which are then burned in the furnace. The pigs and dogs accomplish nothing productive by all this paperwork, but their appetites are always good

52)How do the animals now feel about their social order, their farm?

The animals, even the new ones, are proud to be a part of the only farm in England run by animals. They still believe there will be a time when man will be defeated and only animals will tread English soil. They are very pleased that at least on this farm no beings walk upon two legs

53)What drastic actions do the pigs use to shatter the animals' complacency?

The pigs begin to walk upright on two legs, Napoleon carries a whip, the pigs begin to wear the Jones's clothing, a telephone is installed, and they subscribe to newspapers. The sheep have been taught a new motto, "Four legs good, two legs better."

54)All seven commandments are erased. What is the new commandment and how has it been true from the beginning?

The new commandment reads: "All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others." This commandment has been true from the beginning when Napoleon drank the milk, when the pigs had already taught themselves to read and write, and when the pigs merely supervised while the other animals worked. Now the pigs have openly stated what has always been true

55)At the conference with neighboring farmers, what new changes does Napoleon point out?

The farm is cooperatively owned by all the pigs. The animals will no longer call each other "Comrade." There will be no more marches by Major's skull. The flag is now a field of green with the horn and hoof removed. And the name of the farm has been changed back to The Manor Farm. All traces of the Rebellion have been erased

56)What happens to the pigs' appearance?

As the animals watch, the pigs begin to resemble the humans. There are no longer any differences between them. The animals can finally see their true situation, but it is too late to do anything about it